KATRINA in MISSISSIPPI

YEAR 5 On Horizon since Hurricane Katrina. It is shameful that there is CONTINUING LACK ! NOW ADD, Gushing Oil Since May, in THE GULF!
ECOLOGICAL CATASTROPHY for Years to come. Ways of Life Gone.

Monday, August 29, 2011

KATRINA - 6 YEAR MEMORIAL OBSERVANCE 2011

City of Biloxi - via Vincent Creel, Biloxi Newsletter:

Emotional Song, Prayers Mark Sixth Anniversary of Katrina

Ronny Broussard had tears welling in the eyes of some of the hundred or so people who listened to his new song, "I Wanna Come Home," during the city's annual Katrina memorial onservance this morning. Broussard's ode to the spirit of the people of Biloxi was one of the highlights of a 25-minute observance that featured prayers from Bishop Roger Morin of the Catholic Diocese of Biloxi, Rev. Eric Dickey of the First Missionary Baptist Church, Associate Pastor Ashley Austin of First Baptist Church of Biloxi, and Chaplain and Deputy Chief John Jennings of the Biloxi Fire Department.

"They say that the sixth anniversary does not have the importance of the first anniversary, or the fifth or the 10th, but I think every milestone like this is important," Mayor A.J. Holloway told the audience.

"We gather here today to remember what we have been through, how far we've come, and, most importantly, we gather to remember those who were lost in Katrina. We must never forget."

Students from Biloxi High School and St. Patrick Catholic High School read the names of the 52 Biloxi residents who perished in the storm. And it was Broussard's moving rendition of "I Wanna Come Home," which evoked memories of a care-free yet resilient pre-Katrina Biloxi, that closed the observance in somber fashion

Links

Under Surge, Under Siege - Ellis Anderson (former blog was Katrina Patina) is a writer and community activist who tells her own story of riding out Katrina. She also offers us an award winning memoir of her beloved town's journey through Katrina and the aftermath in "Language of Loss."

Update for Ellis: Her new book, which came from her blog, will be out August 2010. It is titled "Under Surge, Under Siege - the Odyssey of Bay St. Louis and Katrina"

Life Among DebrisHwy. 90 Bridge, Ocean Springs, MS – Nov. 2005
As I walked off of the highway and down the slope, I noticed that within the debris on the ground
that Katrina had left behind, a bright sign of the renewal of life had sprung up. Never fear that life continues onward and upward through destruction.

"In the absence of justice, what is sovereignty but organized robbery?" – Saint Augustine

“Any nation that year after year continues to raise the Defense budget while cutting social programs to the neediest is a nation approaching spiritual death.” - MLK